The fight will be shown live on Sky Sports 2 and Sky Sports 2 HD with the show starting at 0100 BST on Sunday 1 December.

Overview

Tony Bellew challenges for the world light-heavyweight title for the second time in his professional career after losing to Nathan Cleverly back in October 2011 when attempting to win the WBO crown. The likeable Liverpudlian is fighting away from home and knows that he will have to produce a special performance to silence Stevenson's fans in his adopted hometown and win over the judges.

Fighting on his 31st birthday, Bellew has earned his shot at the title after becoming the mandatory challenger thanks to a hard-fought victory over Isaac Chilemba, just two months after his first fight with the South African was scored a draw. His only loss came against Cleverly and he demonstrated in the wins over Danny McIntosh and Edinson Miranda that he has genuine power in both hands.

At 6ft 2" and with a reach of 74" he has the physical advantage over Stevenson who is also six years older. However, the man nicknamed Superman has been on a tremendous run of results after being a somewhat latecomer to the sport.

Formerly trained by the late, great Emanuel Steward, Stevenson has won his last nine fights and not one opponent has heard the final bell in that time. His one-punch demolition of Chad Dawson send shockwaves through the boxing world, but it was his slick performance against Tavoris Cloud that caught the eye.

Stevenson would deliver such a boxing clinic that Cloud would retire at the end of the 7th round with simply no answer to the slick skills and raw power of the Haitian-born champion. That victory has made the southpaw an overwhelming favourite as he looks to prove he is the best light-heavyweight in the world.

The undercard sees Cleverly's conqueror Sergey Kovalev puts his WBO belt on the line against Ismail Sillakh and it appears destined the winner will move on to face the whoever triumphs in the main event.

What They Said

Bellew: "I've worked really hard to get here. Nothing has been given to me or handed to me. I'm facing the premier fighter in the division; this is why I targeted the WBC title from the start. This is a lifetime's work going into 36 minutes. But I don't plan on going 12 rounds. There's only going to be one guy standing at the end of this fight.'

Stevenson: "I got my power. That is a gift God gave to me. That's natural power; you know? I just work hard. I never say in my mind that an opponent is too tough or too big. When I walk into the ring with you, this is war and I am going to win by knockout."

Prediction

Stevenson has a knockout percentage of 82% and in his last two fights has stopped elite level fighters. But Bellew must not be written off and has consistently pointed to the fact the champion was knocked out by Darnell Boone - a fighter who has lost on 21 occasions. The Brit must not be drawn into a war and must instead look to use his long and languid jab to keep Stevenson at bay.

No one can question the heart of Bellew having risen from the canvas twice to defeat Oval McKenzie but if he is caught clean by Stevenson then it may well be all over.